1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner system.
2. Background
An air conditioner system functions to maintain an air in a given space at an appropriate temperature. Generally, the air conditioner system includes a compressor, condenser, expander, and evaporator for compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation of the refrigerant, which may be referred to as a refrigerant cycle. The air conditioner system may be installed in an office, home, or vehicle.
When the air conditioner system is in a cooling operation mode, an outdoor heat exchanger in an outdoor subsystem may act as the condenser, while an indoor heat exchanger in an indoor subsystem may act as the evaporator. Alternatively, when the air conditioner system is in a warming operation mode, an outdoor heat exchanger in an outdoor subsystem may act as the evaporator, while an indoor heat exchanger in an indoor subsystem may act as the condenser.
An example of a conventional air conditioner system is described in Korean Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-0133020A, filed on Dec. 22, 2006, titled as “AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM,” which is incorporated herein by reference. As described therein, the conventional air conditioner system may include a compressor, four-way valve, indoor heat exchanger, outdoor heat exchanger, expander, gas-liquid separator and multiple refrigerant pipes.
When the conventional air conditioner system is in a cooling operation mode, the refrigerant may be compressed by the compressor to have a high-temperature and a high-pressure state. The compressed vapor-phase refrigerant may then reach the four-way valve and flow to the outdoor heat exchanger. The outdoor heat exchange may then condense the refrigerant, and, the condensed refrigerant may then flow into the indoor subsystem.
The refrigerant may flow from the indoor subsystem via the expander to the indoor heat exchanger, where the indoor heat exchanger may evaporate the refrigerant to have a low-temperature and a low-pressure state. Then, the refrigerant may flow to the outdoor subsystem. From the outdoor subsystem, the refrigerant may again flow to the four-way valve and then the gas-liquid separator. The gas-liquid separator then may extract only vapor-phase refrigerant which in turn may be suctioned to the compressor.
Thus, in accordance with the conventional air conditioner system, when the air conditioner system operates in a cooling mode, the refrigerant after the indoor heat exchanger may flow along a long distance between the indoor subsystem and outdoor subsystem. Such long distance flow may cause significant pressure loss of the refrigerant. Consequently, the refrigerant temperature and pressure may drop. In order to compensate for the temperature and pressure drop, the compressor may require increased power consumption (AW).